healthbriefs


Getting the Lead Out T


he U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently redefined the “action level” for lead exposure in children. Youngsters are now considered at risk and qualify for careful medical monitoring if they have more than five micrograms per deciliter of lead in their blood—half the previous threshold. Lead poison- ing can cause cognitive and behavioral problems, and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends testing blood lead concentration levels at age 1 and again at 2, when concentrations peak.


Most lead poisoning cases occur in substandard housing units, especially those with window frames still coated with lead-based paint banned since 1978. Families in dwellings built before 1950 should also be vigilant about lead. The Consumer Products Safety Commission cautions that home lead test kits sold online and at hardware stores may not be reliable enough to identify and remove sources of exposure. Professional contractors offer more accurate results. Children exhibiting blood lead levels above the new threshold are usually


monitored, rather than treated with medications that carry serious risks. Once lead sources are removed, children’s blood lead levels typically return to a more normal range within weeks. The CDC confirms that rather than remedial treatment, the primary goal should be making sure children aren’t exposed to lead in the first place. Fortu- nately, the levels of most of America’s youngest children today are well below the revised action point, with average blood lead content of 1.8 micrograms, while school-age children, teenagers and adults face little risk.


eventspotlight


Lyme Disease Seminar in New Brighton M


ay is Lyme Disease Awareness Month. A seminar on Lyme disease will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30


p.m. on May 4, in New Brighton. “21st Century Hope for Surviving and Thriving with Lyme Disease: A Medical


Mystery” is presented by Minnesota Wellness Educators and will feature a group of Minnesota Lyme care practitioners.


All aspects dealing with the disease will be addressed, including diagno- sis, reliability of testing, why it affects the central nervous system (CNS) and the difference between Lyme disease, fatigue and depression. Ways to prevent Lyme disease also will be addressed. The following guest speakers are all Lyme disease thrivers: Tom Grier, a mi- crobiologist from Duluth; Paula Quinlan, certified natural health practitioner; na- turopath Kelly Halderman, M.D.; and Diane Beran, Lyme-disease-literate licensed psychologist. Also scheduled to speak are chiropractor Morgan Binnie and nurse Lynn M. Wilson, who have worked with Lyme disease clients.


Cost: $50 before May 4; $70 at the door. Location: Meadowood Shores Apart- ment Meeting Room, 2100 Silver Lake Rd., New Brighton. For more information, call Lynn Wilson at 651-765-9176 or email MNWellnessEducators@comcast.net. To register, visit MNWellnessEducators4.eventbrite.com.


8 NA Twin Cities Edition natwincities.com E


COFFEE AND VISION LOSS LINKED


asing up on java consumption or switching to decaf may be a wise


move for coffee lovers, according to a scientific paper published in Investiga- tive Ophthalmology & Visual Science. The study links heavy consumption of the caffeinated beverage to an in- creased risk of developing exfoliation glaucoma, a condition in which fluid builds up inside the eye and puts pres- sure on the optic nerve. This leads to some vision loss and in serious cases, total blindness. Researchers obtained data from


78,977 women from the Nurses’ Health Study and 41,202 men from the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study that focused on caffeinated coffee, tea and cola servings. They found that drinking three or more cups of caffein- ated coffee daily was linked with an increased risk of developing the eye condition, especially for women with a family history of glaucoma. However, the researchers did not find associa- tions with consumption of decaffein- ated tea, chocolate or coffee. “Because this is the first [such]


study, confirmation of the U.S. results in other populations would be needed to lend more credence to the possibil- ity that caffeinated coffee might be a modifiable risk factor for glaucoma,” says Doctor of Science Jae Hee Kang, of the Channing Division of Network Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, in Boston, Massachusetts. “It may also lead to research into other dietary or lifestyle risk factors.”


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